[Football Fan]

State universities in California are inundated with applications. Cuts in the State of California budget have affected the university system. Classes are large, majors impacted and fees increased. Parents who discover the merit scholarships offered at some southern universities find this can be an attractive alternative. Other students seek a change and look for the "college" experience of campus life with football games, large campuses, choices of majors, social groups and friendly classmates. My guess is the costs may be lower for some families to attend an out of state southern school, especially with an generous scholarship.

California is now the most populous state. The county where I lived as a child was a mix of small towns, orange groves, strawberry farms and beautiful beaches with few crowds. It now has close to four million people.

It is not a surprise to see students from the Golden State choose to attend a large southern university.

Examples of application numbers for branches of the University of California:
Freshman Applicants Only for Entering in Fall of 2014

Univ. of California at Santa Cruz--40,617 applicants
Univ. of California at Irvine--60,476
Univ. of California at Santa Barbara--66, 756
Univ. of California at San Diego--73,437 (Sought after for strong science and math programs)